ol.  15 


December,  1910 


No.  10 


r\ 


What  Are  Special  Libraries? 


LOUISE  B.  KRAUSE 
LIBRARIAN,  H.  M.  BYLLESBY  & CO. 


Reprinted  from  PUBLIC  LIBRARIES 


Library  Bureau 

156 Wabash  Ave.  Chicago,  Illinois 


What  Are  Special  Libraries? 

LOUISE  B.  KRAUSE 
LIBRARIAN,  H.  M.  BYLLESBY  & CO. 


What  Are  Special  Libraries? 

LOUISE  B.  KRAUSE 
LIBRARIAN,  H.  M.  BYLLESBY  & CO. 

CHICAGO 


The  field  of  library  work  represented 
by  the  Special  library  association  is  so 
limited  that  it  is  probably  thoroughly 
known  to  very  few  librarians  who  are 
busy  in  other  lines  of  library  work. 

The  commercial  or  business  library 
might  be  classified  under  an  old  term, 
almost  forgotten  in  these  days  of  the 
ascendancy  of  the  free  public  library,  but 
nevertheless  very  suggestive  of  an  inter- 
esting period  in  the  development  of  libra- 
ries in  this  country,  namely,  the  proprie- 
tary library,  maintained,  as  it  is,  by  pri- 
vate individuals  for  their  own  personal 
needs  and  having  no  lawful  obligation  to 
serve  the  public  or  permit  its  resources 
to  be  used  outside  of  its  personal  circle. 

The  organization  of  such  libraries  in 
business  firms  was,  as  far  as  I know,  first 
done  in  the  east,  and  the  organization  of 
the  Special  libraries  association  largely 
emanated  from  them ; the  libraries  which 
have  played  a prominent  part  in  its  or- 
ganization being  those  of  Stone  & Web- 
ster, a great  public  utility  and  engineer- 
ing corporation,  the  firm  of  Arthur  D. 
Little  Company,  engineering  chemists,  tiic 
financial  library  of  Fiske  & Robinson, 
and  others. 

Commercial  librarianship,  however,  is 

♦Abstract  of  paper  read  at  meeting  of  Illinois 
library  association,  Oct.  11,  1910. 


not  by  any  means  confined  to  the  east. 
Our  middle  west  is  represented  by  Stude- 
baker  Bros.,  at  South  Bend,  Ind.,  the 
Commonwealth  Edison  Company  of  Chi- 
cago, H.  M.  Byllesby  & Co.,  and  others. 

Associated  with  commercial  libraries  in 
the  Special  libraries  association  are  libra- 
ries which  are  special  in  that  they  are 
made  up  of  a highly  specialized  selection 
of  material  and  also  serve  a limited  con- 
stituency, but  are  not  maintained  by  busi- 
ness houses.  Of  this  type  a conspicuous 
example  is  the  library  of  the  New  York 
state  public  service  commission,  and  we 
may  also  put  in  this  group  legislative 
reference  libraries,  special  technology  de- 
partments of  some  of  our  large  public 
libraries,  and  libraries  of  engineering  so- 
cieties, as  the  library  of  the  Western  so- 
ciety of  engineers,  Chicago. 

To  return  to  the  commercial  library, 
which,  as  you  see,  is  only  one  type  of  the 
so-called  special  libraries,  we  find  that 
they  may  be  classified  under  two  heads. 
The  first  class  may  be  called  Welfare 
libraries — libraries  maintained  by  firms 
for  the  betterment  of  their  employes. 
These  libraries  are  doing  work  similar 
to  what  our  public  libraries  are  doing, 
only  at  closer  range  and  with  a more 
limited  constituency.  They  supply  litera- 
ture for  recreation  and  general  culture, 


02,7 


and  also  technical  literature  for  self- 
improvement  along  the  lines  of  the  com- 
pany business. 

The  second  class  of  commercial  libra- 
ries may  be  called  “Professional’’  libraries, 
for  want  of  a better  term,  which  possibly 
someone  may  be  able  to  supply  for  me. 
These  libraries  exist  only  to  render  spe- 
cial expert  service  to  their  firms  on  sub- 
jects touching  company  business.  The 
library  of  H.  M.  Byllesby  & Co.  is  an 
example  of  this  class;  while  the  Com- 
monwealth Edison  Company  library  be- 
longs both  to  class  one  and  to  class  two — 
for  one  of  its  leading  motives  is  to  en- 
courage the  self-improvement  of  em- 
ployes, while  it  also  renders  service  to  the 
heads  of  the  various  departments  of  the 
company.  The  Studebaker  library,  at 
South  Bend,  Ind.,  is  also  similar  in  nature. 

You  are  perfectly  familiar  with  what 
we  call  the  “welfare”  aspect  of  commer- 
cial libraries,  and  let  us,  therefore,  hasten 
on  to  the  “professional”  side  of  the  com- 
mercial library,  as  I am  sure  you  are 
asking,  “What  is  the  particular  character 
and  work  of  this  kind  of  a library,  and 
how  does  it  differ  from  other  libraries?” 
Not  so  much  how  it  differs  from  the 
public  library,  which  is  evident,  but  as  to 
how  it  differs  from  the  university  library, 
which  also  serves  a professional  constit- 
uency. Let  me  briefly,  therefore,  describe 
a few  aspects  of  the  professional  com- 
mercial library  with  which  I am  most 
familiar,  that  of  H.  M.  Byllesby  & Co., 
engineers,  who  construct,  operate  and 
finance  public  utilities. 

its  resources  are,  first,  of  course,  books 
and  periodicals,  our  range  of  subjects  in 
general  being  limited  to  engineering  and 
public  utility  operations. 

The  subjects  of  electric,  steam,  gas  and  * 
hydraulic  engineering  necessarily  attract 


other  subjects,  as  geology,  river  surveys, 
stream  measurements,  rainfall,  timber 
preservation,  concrete,  building  materials, 
building  construction,  information  on  the 
production  of  natural  gas  and  fuel  oil, 
and  kindred  subjects. 

On  the  public  utility  side,  the  library 
must  furnish  material  on  rates,  deprecia- 
tion, statistics  of  public  utilities’  opera- 
tions, and  the  legislation  of  public  service 
commissions. 

Photographs  also  play  an  important 
part  in  our  library.  The  history  of  the 
construction  of  dams,  power  houses, 
transmission  lines,  and  other  subjects,  is 
shown  in  a series  of  photographs,  which 
we  handle  as  we  do  books.  Duplicate 
photographs  and  films  must  also  be  cared 
for  by  the  library. 

Topographical  survey  maps,  river  sur- 
veys, and  the  issuing  of  maps  of  our  own 
covering  the  territory  served  by  our  util- 
ities, are  also  included  under  the  head  of 
library  work. 

And  last,  but  decidedly  not  least  in  our 
library  equipment,  we  have  what  is  called 
“technical”  and  “special  data”  files,  com- 
posed of  manuscript  material  in  the  form 
of  letters,  reports,  and  special  examina- 
tions, on  engineering  and  operating  sub- 
jects vital  to  company  business. 

The  professional  business  man  does  not 
build  up  a library  for  the  sake  of  having 
a library.  He  is  not  interested  in  mak- 
ing a good  library  showing  in  regard  to 
the  quantity  of  books  on  the  shelves,  but 
he  is  vitally  interested  in  the  quality  of 
the  material.  He  desires  no  obsolete  lit- 
erature, but  information  authoritative 
and  up-to-date.  To  him,  knowledge  is 
simply  power — principally  electric  power 
in  these  days — and  he  is  not  interested  in 
systems  of  classification  or  cataloging,  as 
a number  of  college  professors  are,  much 


to  the  sorrow  of  many  a librarian.  He 
has  just  one  object  in  view — he  wants 
specific  information  and  he  wants  it 
quickly,  and  the  business  librarian’s 
watchword  must  constantly  be,  quick,  ac- 
curate, authoritative  service.  No  matter 
where  or  how  you  get  the  information 
desired,  so  long  as  you  get  it  and  get  it 
quick ! 

It  would  be  interesting  to  discuss  the 
methods  of  work,  the  necessary  personal 
qualifications  for  commercial  librarian- 
ship,  and  the  general  knowledge  of  busi- 
ness conditions  necessary  for  success  in 
commercial  library  work,  but  these  topics 
do  not  legitimately  come  within  the  limit 
of  our  subject,  or  our  time. 

H.  M.  Byllesby  & Co.  adopted  at  the 
start  this  library  policy,  which  some  of 
you  recognize  as  an  aspect  of  the  dis- 
cussions on  co-ordination  of  libraries,  in 
which  the  American  library  association 
is  interested:  We  will  keep  our  library 
down  as  far  as  possible  to  a small  work- 
ing collection  of  books,  and  our  librarian 
shall  be  a go-between  us  and  the  other 
library  facilities  of  the  city  of  Chicago, 
when  we  want  information  not  available 
in  our  own  collection. 

The  type  of  expert  engineer  with  which 
I have  had  much  to  do  this  past  year  rep- 
resents the  highest  degree  of  profession- 
alism. He  has  gone  on  in  his  experience 
to  that  further  place  of  knowledge  toward 
which  many  college  professors  look  long- 
ingly, but  are  not  able  to  reach,  because 
of  the  limitations  of  their  teaching  work. 
He  does  not  have  any  use  for  the  average 
literature  of  his  profession,  but  requires 
the  most  exact  and  exhaustive  informa- 
tion available.  Do  not,  therefore,  think 
of  the  commercial  library  as  a part  of  a 
mere  money-making  scheme,  but  rather  as 
the  highest  type  of  a professional  library, 


demanding  of  its  librarian  constant  study 
to  obtain  and  handle  intelligently  informa- 
tion on  a variety  of  difficult  subjects. 

May  I be  permitted  to  digress  a mo- 
ment from  my  main  point  and  speak  in 
regard  to  the  purely  commercial  side  of 
public  utility  companies  ? There  is  a tre- 
mendous amount  of  superficial  informa- 
tion and  cheap  writing  abroad  in  regard 
to  the  rights  of  the  public  as  against  the 
unscrupulous  money-making  public  serv- 
ice corporation.  The  charges  made  may 
be  true  of  some  companies,  but  I,  for  one, 
personally  resent  having  them  applied 
wholesale  to  every  public  service  corpo- 
ration. 

Close  personal  contact  with  one  utility 
company  for  the  past  year  has  convinced 
me  that  public  utilities  can  be,  and  are, 
conducted  in  many  cases  with  a high 
sense  of  honor  as  to  the  treatment  which 
is  due  the  public,  as  to  what  is  a fair 
profit  for  the  service  rendered,  and  with 
a sincere  desire  not  only  to  please  the  pub- 
lic but  also  to  enter  into  close  friendly  co- 
operation with  the  community  served. 
Something  of  this  spirit  can  be  found 
crystallized  in  a little  pamphlet  recently 
privately  printed  and  issued  to  all  the 
members  of  the  operating  organization 
of  H.  M.  Byllesby  & Co.  It  bears  this 
suggestive  title  upon  which  I will  not 
linger  to  make  any  comment — “Yourself 
as  a public  servant.” 

Commercial  librarianship  is  in  its  in- 
fancy, but  I believe  it  is  a movement 
which  has  come  to  stay.  The  plan  of  the 
Special  libraries  association  to  induce 
these  special  libraries  to  cooperate  in 
making  available  through  special  indexes 
and  lists  library  material  not  readily 
available  at  present  is  an  exceedingly 
worth  while  ideal.  Whether  the  best  re- 
sults can  be  obtained  by  the  Special  libra- 


ries  association  working  independently  or 
working  in  close  relationship  to  the  Amer- 
ican library  association  is  yet  to  be  de- 
termined. Personally,  my  observation 
leads  me  to  think  that  close  cooperation 
with  the  American  library  association 
will  bring  about  the  best  results.  For, 
while  the  work  of  the  so-called  general 
libraries  can  be  greatly  helped  by  the 
Special  libraries  association,  it  is  also 
true  that  the  Special  libraries  association 
can  receive  much  help  from  the  tried 
methods  of  work  and  the  accepted  safe 
machinery  for  the  transmission  of  knowl- 
edge with  which  our  general  library  work- 
ers are  so  thoroughly  acquainted. 

I say  this  in  view  of  the  fact  that  a 


number  of  the  librarians  of  Special  libra- 
ries, while  having  a thorough  knowledge 
of  the  subjects  in  which  they  are  inter- 
ested, have  not  had  the  opportunity  for 
the  study  of  classification  and  cataloging 
and  other  methods  of  work  with  which 
the  ordinary  trained  librarian  is  familiar. 

It  would  seem  to  me,  therefore,  unwise 
that  the  Special  libraries  association 
should  spend  any  time  or  energy,  as  has 
once  or  twice  been  suggested,  in  devising 
brand  new  systems  of  administration  for 
commercial  work,  for  I am  convinced 
from  personal  experience  that  so  far  as 
machinery  goes,  not  new  inventions,  but 
simply  adaptation  is  needed  to  handle 
successfully  commercial  library  work. 


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